SUPREMACY OF BRITISH SOLDIER.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLVIII, Issue 4579, 7 June 1917, Page 5

SUPREMACY OF BRITISH SOLDIER.

A STRIKING COMPARISON OF

CAPTURES.

It may be of interest to remind the public how completely, judged by every test, the British soldier have mastered the German during the war (writes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). After the foolish gibe of the Emperor, and constant sneers by the German Press,.which, made merry for so long over our attempts to raise an army, it, is instructive to get down to the actual figures, which would be infinitely more favourable if it were not for the losses in the first week of fighting, when we were in the presence of forces' which outnumbered ■us by five to one. In prisoners we hav© at- least doubl tlie British prisoners in Germany bein about 34,000 in number, while we have closed in upon 70,000 Germans. Only during the Mons retreat have the Germans taken any considerable number of prisoners from us Our losses during that weeks came to nearly 15,000 mtn. On the other hand on the Marne, at Loos, again and again at the Somme, on the An ere, and how at Arras and the Vi my Ridge, we have made captures which run into thousands.

OUR HAUL OF GUNS. The comparison of captured guns is evtn more remarkable. Our losses during the Moils retreat may be put at about sixty, the.great majority of which were at the glorious defeat of Le Gateau. Afgtexwards, the guns which we have lost could be counted on the fingers of one’s hands. There wore two at the Lo Bassee action in , October, 1914, four heavy guns in the! poison gas action of April 23, 1915, j and possibly one or two at other dif- | ferent times, but the total certainly j could not exceed 70. i Against this we have up to date j taken about 200 in the present fighting, and 140 in the fighting on the Somme. Eight were taken in the battery L action and four by the cavalryaction next da\\ Six were taken by the Lincolns on September 9, and about a dozen others, mostly disabled’ during the Marne retreat. Twenty-; one were taken at Loos. Altogether, out total amounts ap-' proximately to 400 guns, as against 70 which we have lost. j It would he well if some prominence | could be given to such figures in those little neutral countries where it is not yet understood'that the German sol-, dier has found his maser. The super! stition of Prussian supremacy never j rested unon any very firm basis, and I now.it has been destroyed for ever. j Giving our enemies credit for all j jf the mu in the inn ws dal acl ala dal j the military virtues which they un-j doubtfully possess, it has none the Joss been clearly shown that brave slaves led by clever fiends can and will be beaten by freemen led by gentlemen . !